Undergraduate Career Readiness Plan
One of the greatest qualities of a Liberal Arts education is its interdisciplinary approach, which makes each student’s four-year experience unique. No two students will take the same courses or follow the same academic enrichment and career planning paths during their undergraduate years. This four-year timeline is provided as a suggestion; please adapt this information to suit your personal interests and goals.
- First Year
- Learn about and participate in student organizations, research, and volunteerism
- Explore potential career interests using Focus 2 Career Tool, What Can I Do With This Major?, and My Next Move
- Schedule an appointment with Liberal Arts Career Services to discuss your interests and goals
- Cultivate relationships with professors and Teaching Assistants (TA) by visiting office hours
- Explore how other Liberal Arts students are gaining experience through our internship site reviews
- Consider scheduling time for a study abroad experience before graduating and look into funding resources to help finance a study abroad opportunity
- Attend at least one workshop, event, or career fair to gain insight into various careers and opportunities
- Make a Handshake account to search for on-campus jobs and internships, schedule appointments with a career coach and register for events
- Take a LinkedIn Learning course over the summer to learn or further develop a skill
- Update your high school resume to a college resume using one of our templates
- Second Year
- Learn more about career paths you are interested in through informational interviews
- Look for internships in Handshake for the spring semester or summer
- Update your resume to include your first year and summer experiences
- Gain experience through a part-time job or internship and learn about funding opportunities for internships
- If you need an internship course credit as a part of your major requirements, browse our internship credit courses
- Create HookedIn and LinkedIn accounts to begin connecting with the UT community and building your network
- Practice your interviewing skills to prepare for future interviews, either virtually using Big Interview or scheduling an appointment with a career coach
- Connect with employers by asking questions and introducing yourself to representatives at events and career fairs
- Visit the UT Outpost Career Closet to start building your professional clothing collection
- Cultivate relationships with professors and Teaching Assistants (TA) by visiting office hours
- Consider applying for leadership positions in student organizations to gain valuable experience
- Meet with a career coach to discuss internship opportunities, work on application materials, or to touch base about your career game plan moving forward
- Consider taking a career course for credit – LA 101M is a 1-hour credit course that you can take at any time during your undergraduate career
- Work on crafting a cover letter for internship or part-time job applications and have it reviewed by a career coach
- Third Year
- If you are considering law school or graduate school, schedule an appointment with a law school or graduate school admissions coach
- Complete the Career Crossroads activity to get a better idea of what you are looking for in an internship or a job
- Consider taking a career course for credit – LA 101M is a 1-hour credit course that you can take at any time during your undergraduate career
- Browse Handshake to better prepare for required and preferred qualifications of full-time positions in your desired field.
- Update your resume to reflect your second year and summer experiences
- Connect with and learn from alumni by using HookedIn, the University of Texas alumni network, or LinkedIn
- Cultivate relationships with professors and Teaching Assistants (TA) by visiting office hours
- Attend a career fair or employer event to network with employers and learn about job and internship opportunities they have available for the summer or the next school year
- Obtain an internship or part time job that will help you develop transferrable skills and be competitive for jobs upon graduation
- Update your existing cover letter to include new experiences and have it reviewed by a career coach
- Visit the UT Outpost Career Closet to start building your professional clothing collection
- Schedule an appointment with a career coach to craft strong application materials
- Fourth Year
- Identify your goals and create a game plan. Full-time job? Graduate school? Post-graduate fellowship/grant program? Travel?
- For full time positions, begin searching for postings at least 3-6 months before you graduate. This will give you time to network, interview, and secure a position. Some industries have hiring timelines that hire a year out. Meet with a career coach to customize your job search plan
- Research companies and types of positions you are interested in using Handshake (and other job search tools)
- Obtain an additional internship for Fall, Spring or even the Summer after you graduate
- Strengthen relationships with professors and Teaching Assistants (TA) by visiting office hours
- Consider taking a career course for credit – LA 101M is a 1-hour credit course that you can take at any time during your undergraduate career
- Reach out to your network (current and former professors/TAs, job or internship supervisors, mentors, UT alumni) to let them know you are looking for a position after graduation
- Take the Linkedin Master Course to optimize LinkedIn to its fullest
- Attend career fairs and employer events to meet representatives from employers you are interested in to learn more about the organization and full-time job opportunities
- Interact with alumni on HookedIn and LinkedIn who work at companies or in industries of interest
- Identify people (former/current supervisors, research program leadership, mentors) to serve as references for your job search or letter writers for law or graduate school
- Finalize your resume and create various tailored versions for the specific jobs/industries you are applying to
- Develop a cover letter template and tailor it to each job you apply for
- Complete the Job Posting Analysis handout to ensure your application materials are highlighting key information from the job posting
- Post-Graduation
- Meet with a career coach for up to one year after your graduation date
- Access Handshake in perpetuity
- Stay connected with other alumni and current students through HookedIn. Consider becoming a mentor for current students to help them in their own career journey!
- Share your career success with us at Liberal Arts Career Services!